How the closest name is found
Every name in the list has a set colour. The tool measures how different your colour looks from each one and picks the smallest difference. It measures in OKLab, a colour space built so that equal distances look about equally different to people, which gives better matches than comparing red, green and blue numbers.
Most colours don't have an exact name, so the result says how close it is: an exact match, almost the same, close, similar or only loosely like it.
CSS named colours
CSS has 148 named colours you can write instead of a hex code, like tomato, rebeccapurple or slategrey. Seven of them come in two spellings, grey and gray, and two pairs are the same colour under two names: aqua and cyan, and fuchsia and magenta. Names marked CSS work in any browser, so color: teal is the same as color: #008080.
The other names in the list come from paint, fashion and design, like burgundy, sage, terracotta and mustard. They're useful for describing a colour to a client or in product listings, but in code you still need the hex value.
Naming colours for your brand
Names make a palette easier to talk about. "Use the sage, not the olive" is clearer than two hex codes. Many brands also give colours their own names, like Ocean or Clay, based on the closest common name.
For product listings, use the plain name people search for, like navy or burgundy, rather than an unusual one, and put the fancier name in the description.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the name of a colour from a hex code?
Paste the hex code into this tool. It compares it with every name in its list and shows the closest one, how close it is and other names nearby.
How many named colours does CSS have?
148, counting both spellings of the seven grey and gray names, and aqua and cyan, fuchsia and magenta, which are the same colours.
Can I use colour names in CSS?
Only the CSS named colours, marked CSS here, like teal or coral. Other names, like burgundy or sage, aren't CSS keywords, so use their hex codes.
Why do other sites give a different name?
Colour names aren't a standard outside CSS, and each list has its own names and values. The same blue might be cerulean in one list and steel blue in another.
How do I get a hex code from a picture?
Use the image colour picker to pick a colour from a photo, then paste the hex code here to find its name.